The Five Stages of a Tropical Storm
by LadyLasagna
Summary: How a hurricane crashed headlong into Jason's life. Jercy
1. Chapter 1

Football practice seeps into evening, letting out late when the air's veiled in charcoal, gruel clouds smothering the sun. Worst of all, Jason's duffel bag weighs like a ton of bricks. Zhang really needs to cool it on his tackles. Jason rolls his sore shoulder, grimacing, glancing down at his phone. The text from his driver says to wait at the side parking lot. Before long, he'll be soaking his muscles in some tranquilizing, warm water.

There's just one problem. Jason's walking slows to a halt, converse soles chafing the cement. Someone's smoking on the steps, and it's not just any stoner either.

Percy Jackson.

They've been sharing the same grounds since kindergarten. Jason imagines most communities operate the same way: you've got one class, one vat of humans to bubble and sprout with, tangling roots until senior year, when you're all wrenched from the soil at once. Because education supposedly grows a ripe batch, if that isn't the biggest bullshit Jason's ever heard. Some kids have been rotting for years.

He still remembers Percy from first grade, the tiny rumple of black hair and acid green eyes. They'd been best friends for a day, sworn over scraped knees, a kickball home plate, and by the time the yellow buses were pulling up, they'd turned archrivals. Only when they reached middle school was Jason relieved they severed so early. Glimpses of Percy's dark clothes, the sketchy crowd he hung with, and the amount of times he'd be requested in the principal's office were enough proof. High school hadn't changed things much, because Percy had already rotted. Decayed and festered to the core.

Rather than climb the stairs and address him, Jason turns to the empty lot, facing the masterpiece of chalk rectangles. They're drawn like marching men, same and tidy, definitively boring, but that's how Jason likes to keep things. It makes the world feel stable when he knows the tiniest, inane factors can swoop in and throw everything, everything off balance.

"Want a smoke?"

Jason whips his head around, embarrassed. As the last of vapor trickles from Percy's parted lips, their demure o-shape changes, curving into a smile. He's propped his elbows on the stair behind him, chin tilted a fraction to reveal the pretty pale line of his neck, starkly disappearing into his black t-shirt collar. His hoodie is unzipped, thrown open over his slender chest, jeaned legs tossed across the steps.

"Lost in my eyes?" Percy grins. But God, if he wasn't blessed with some gorgeous features, his eyes just a grain among sand.

"No thanks." Jason's gaze lingers a moment longer than he wants, before he swivels his head forward.

Percy continues anyway, languid and amused, "Worried about the health effects?"

Jason opens his mouth without a clue how to reply. "Um, yeah. A little actually."

 _Stupid._

"Well, one cigarette isn't going to give you lung cancer."

Jason glances over his shoulder, because he can't help it. The look in Percy's eyes―dancing glint, sweet poison―tells Jason he's wandered right into a tripwire.

"Don't be a bitch. Come on and sit with me."

So Jason does. He drops his butt on the gravelly second step and immediately regrets it because his shoulder's not the only thing that's sore. At least he can set his duffel down. He watches Percy tug a cig from his back pocket and spark his lighter, curling a resolute flame at the end of the paper.

Jason reaches out, drawn toward Percy's fingers. Their skin brushes for a fragment of a second and then Jason is placing the cigarette between his lips. Percy's the one watching now, so Jason can't mess this up. He takes a drag, exhaustion shuddering in his chest, and somehow, he swallows down the raspy need to cough.

Percy smiles and Jason feels like he's won something.

"Do you even remember my name?"

"Percy, of course. We've been going to the same schools for eleven years." Jason's glad for an excuse to free his windpipe. He rests his wrist on his knee, jerking it rhythmically, like the trailing of smoke. "Do you remember mine?"

Percy scoffs. "Couldn't forget it if I tried. You do the daily announcements, _prez_."

"Student council's good for college applications," Jason replies pointedly. That's not the reason he joined, but it's close enough. "It's not like I enjoy saying that shit."

"Could've fooled me."

"Right. Because all that weed and nicotine has made you ultra-perceptive of other people's lives."

Percy puffs ash. And chuckles. "You're less straight than you look."

"Straight-laced, you mean."

"Sure. So, you're heading off to a university after we're done wading through this crap?"

"Yeah," Jason says. "I'm guessing you mean high school." For once, reversing the question seems rude. He doesn't even know whether Percy will graduate.

"Which university?"

"Stanford, hopefully. My dad went there too."

"Gonna get a scholarship from football?"

Jason nods, surprised that Percy has paid enough attention to learn a single member of the team.

"Good boy." Percy pats Jason's knee. The back of his knuckles are embroidered with scars, but his hand is overall more narrow than Jason would've expected, almost dainty. "Make me proud, huh?"

Jason pushes his hand away, laughing. "Shut the fuck up."

"What're you gonna study?"

"No idea."

"Then why are you going to Stanford?" Percy blinks wide, curious eyes, more innocent than they have any right looking.

"Why do you think? It's an amazing school."

"Because it's expensive, or because your dad went there?"

"Neither. That's idiotic." Jason's concentration slips and he has to cough into the crook of his elbow, purging his lungs of smoke. Stanford's reputation is more than enough to prove its worth, yet Percy's suggestion still rattles his nerves.

"Do you look up to him?" Percy asks. "Your dad."

"A little." Even that much is a stretch, though Jason banishes the doubt from his voice.

"Sure."

Percy is staring, but not _at_ Jason. He's looking _through_ him, past a transparent pane of glass, into the rumbling clouds on the other side. Jason bites back the urge to shiver.

"You're so fucking weird." Percy slots his cigarette in the corner of his mouth.

Jason huffs, shaking his head. "And I'm starting to think you're high."

"You don't have to be so cagey. Dads suck ass in general, so yours is nothing special. I would know, I've had two."

Jason lets a beat pass. Instead of saying something normal like―you're adopted?―Jason blurts, "Your parents are gay?"

"No, genius. I have a biological father and a stepdad. Both of them, deadbeats." Percy tilts his head, examining him. Mischievous delight ripples across his expression. "You sure jumped to that conclusion fast."

"It was your wording." Jason wants to rub the back of his neck, a nervous habit. But he forces his hand to stay still.

"Sure," Percy says. He says that a lot. Whenever Jason's lying, now that he thinks about it. It bothers him on a level that he hadn't even known existed.

Percy kisses his cigarette again, lashes lowered, catching Jason's eye. For a moment, his lips clamp down, pink and wet, and Jason can easily picture him suckling on something else. Heat crawls down his abdomen, scalding and pooling pleasantly in his crotch.

The grind of tires signals his ride. Jason savagely butts his cigarette on the stair and gets to his feet.

"Look Percy, I get that you might have a tough home life. But I don't have any problem with my dad, and I don't know where you got that idea." His bag is going to tear his shoulder open, but his patience is the first thing that's splintered. "See you around dude."

Percy's only acknowledgement is a nod before he turns his cheek, steadily blowing a cloud of ash. Jason tries not to look back.

* * *

Jason's not paying much attention to his surroundings, eyes glued to his phone screen.

(3:10) _Pipes: AMC theater_

(3:10) **Jason: yeah**

(3:12) _Pipes: 3:45_

(3:13) _Pipes: thats thirty min from now_

(3:13) **Jason: okay. Do you have a ride?**

(3:13) _Pipes: yes_

(3:13) _Pipes: just don't bail on me again_

(3:14) _Pipes: please_

(3:15) **Jason: I won't, I promise**

He's been stuck at school for an extra half hour, helping the student council put up posters about the dangers of flu season and the importance of vaccinations. Now the hallways are deserted, everything from the bright crimson lockers to the maroon-tiled floors. There's an exit straight ahead, and Jason adjusts his backpack straps as he moves toward it.

Suddenly, a door flies open in front of him. Ms. Iris stumbles out, hugging an untidy stack of binders and papers, the heels of her shoes wobbling, dangerously close to snapping her ankles. She spots Jason, and a wave of relief crashes over her face. Great.

He has to stop, because it's the right thing to do. "You need help with anything?"

"Jason, you truly are the most charitable, kind-hearted― _Yes_. Can you watch the student in my classroom and make sure he doesn't leave? I'm late for a staff meeting."

She's already striding away before she's done blathering. Jason tries to do the math in his head while a stab of worry twists in his stomach. Staff meetings are usually half an hour, and she said she was late, so…

Fuck, he really doesn't want to disappoint Piper.

He'll probably still make it. Jason turns the door handle of Ms. Iris' room and pokes his head inside. And who else does he find in there, other than,

"Percy."

"Hey Jase." Percy's sitting at a desk in the front row, his chin propped in his hand. Jason doesn't think he's met anyone with a more attractive smile.

The door shuts behind him. "What're you in here for?"

"Detention."

"Yeah, but what for?"

Percy rolls his eyes with an exaggerated pout. "I was framed. Iris is such a bitch, she just assumes the worst. She sent you in here to watch me, right?"

Jason nods. "So don't leave, or I'll look like an asshole."

"You wouldn't stop me?"

"I wouldn't really know how. Tackle you, I guess?"

"Yeah, that'd be super dangerous," Percy drawls. "You'd break every bone in my fragile body, huh quarterback?"

"Some quarterbacks can tackle," Jason says, undignified.

"Maybe. Just not you."

Percy pops up from his seat and begins packing his things in his bag. Assaulted by anxiety, Jason strides over and plants his hands on the desk, leaning near Percy's face.

"Come on dude. Please don't leave."

"Why not?" Percy leans a little closer, his smile taunting. "Your spotless reputation isn't everyone's biggest priority, you know."

Jason catches his wrist. Percy frowns, eyes flickering down as Jason tugs the sheet of paper from his grasp.

"This was homework from last month wasn't it?" Jason turns it over, blank white flashing on both sides. "You didn't do it."

"I did. But Mrs. O' Leary ate it."

"Who's that?" After a moment, Jason clicks his tongue. "Your dog?"

Percy crosses his arms, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

"You couldn't come up with a better excuse than that?" Jason asks. "And I thought you were a pro."

"I didn't think she'd give me fucking detention for it."

"So all you've got to do is finish? That's easy." Jason points at the empty chair, hoping he looks authoritative. "I'll even help you."

Percy narrows his gaze, twisting his mouth in a skeptical line. They glare at each other for a second or so, during which Jason feels his will bending like melted steel, and then Percy flops down with a dramatic sigh.

"Well, hurry up."

"I'm not doing it _for_ you," Jason drags the nearest desk over and pushes it up against Percy's. "You won't learn anything."

"Christ," Percy snaps. "You sound like my mom."

"Hey, I'm just trying to do what's best for you."

"That's proving the comparison, not refuting it."

Jason slides into his seat, bumping Percy's narrow shoulder as they comfortably settle against each other. Jason doesn't mind the proximity. He scans the homework, dredging up answers from the back of his mind, all the while distractedly licking his lips. When he looks up, there's a pair of green eyes staring at his mouth. They quickly dart away.

"Done reading, mother goose?" Percy spins a sharpie around his pointer finger. Probably the same one he uses for graffiti.

"Get a pencil or something, that'll go through the page."

"I don't have anything else. Just quit nagging and tell me what to write."

"Did you even read _To Kill a Mockingbird_? If you didn't, there's no point attempting this."

"I did." Percy pauses. Then his tone changes, morphing into something warmer, winter into spring. "I mean, kind of. I listened to the audiobook since I have dyslexia. It was pretty impressive."

"You think so?"

"It made me read _Go Set A Watchman_ , the sequel. Which sucked ass by the way."

A grin briefly flashes across Jason's face. He hadn't thought Percy had the mental capacity to understand or appreciate any form of art. Now, Jason knows he's just a prejudiced douche.

"Alright, Let's go through each question together."

And for a long time, it's just the two of them, soldiering through a task that feels less and less like work. Percy's more energetic and childlike than he comes off as, with a darker sense of humor that Jason shares, in a way. They laugh together and exchange insults and Jason feels a strange rush every time Percy looks at him, offering that cute, slightly razored smile.

As Percy finishes scribbling his last sentence, he shifts his weight onto Jason's shoulder. "Maybe I'll come to one of your games sometime. They sell alcohol in the concessions?"

"Hell no. And you'd be kicked off the field for bringing booze in."

"Then I take back what I said. No way am I watching your trainwreck of a team sober."

Jason opens his mouth to protest, they're not _that_ bad, but he's interrupted by the turn of a knob. Ms. Iris teeters through the open doorway, still wearing those biohazard heels. She looks curiously between Jason and Percy, their positions pressed up next to each other. Jason tilts away.

"Thank you Jason." She's blinking slowly. "Were you helping him with his homework?"

"Yes ma'am."

A smile shapes her orange-lipsticked mouth. "Really? Well I think it's great that you two get along so well. Jason could have a very good influence on you, Percy."

Percy laughs, surprising them both. Not only with his light-heartedness, but his sugary sincere tone. "I think you're right, Ms. Iris."

A hand finds its way on Jason's knee―warm, dainty―and with a tantalizing pressure, it slides up his thigh, fingers dragging along the seams of Jason's jeans.

"I mean it," Percy sways so close to Jason's face, he tenses, expecting something stupid, something like a kiss. Instead, Percy's lips touch the shell of his ear. "Thanks a lot dude."

Percy swipes his homework off the desktop and grabs his bag. The subtle swing to his hips is hypnotizing, and Jason locks onto it as Percy strolls up to Ms. Iris' desk and hands over his finished homework. Percy throws one last thorn of a smile over his shoulder, then leaves the room without another word.

Jason is left blinking at the chalkboard. Ms. Iris glances up and tells him he's dismissed. But he can't leave, not until his half-hard on goes down. There's a buzz in his backpack, launching a reminder through him like a bullet. Jason pulls his phone out.

(3:47) _Pipes: where u at babe_

(3:50) _Pipes: ur coming right?_

(3:52) _Pipes: if not, text me_

(3:53) _Pipes: cuz its a waste of my time_

(4:00) _Pipes: u get ten more minutes. the movie's already started_

(4:21) _Pipes: forget it_


	2. Chapter 2

Jason's father had three drinks every day: a dry martini at breakfast, a dirty one for lunch, and a potent Black Velvet before bed, so that even his dreams wouldn't be sober. In the beginning, it was always their mother who'd mix his drinks. Then, after she died, it was Thalia. The first time Thalia neglected her duty, the first time she decided somewhere, _anywhere_ else was better than home, the job fell to Jason.

Wearing a ratty t-shirt and faded boxers, bleary-eyed from being woken up, he hustled around the kitchen to locate the ingredients. The glass bottle of stout. Elegant and swan-necked champagne. At fourteen years old, Jason's skinny arm struggled to pop the cork off. He winced and sucked on the slowly forming bruise over his thumb. Maybe he could join a sports team, then he wouldn't be such a wuss.

"You know the measurements don't you?"

Jason stiffened at the sound of his voice. "Yes sir."

If he peeked in the gap beneath the cupboards and above the counter, he could see his father in the living room. His head of thick, dark hair rising above the back of the armchair. Finished stirring, Jason tapped the spoon clean on the edge of the glass and carefully brought it over.

His father gulped down poison like he did a lungful of oxygen. Three swallows and a drawn out exhale, hovering in the air. When he set his glass down, the look on his face diffused ice through Jason's blood. _He shouldn't still be standing there, he was supposed to make himself invisible._

But before he could move, his father gestured with his hand. "Have a seat."

Jason fell on the couch, knees knocked together, too many sharp bones and not enough flesh.

"How has school been?"

Gaze down, head bowed in deference. "It's fine."

"How about your grades?"

"Straight A's."

His father nodded, as if anything less would be unacceptable. Just once, Jason wanted to step out of line, only an inch or so, to see what would happen. But he was too much of a coward.

"What about your extracurriculars? It's your freshman year, and the quality universities will only accept well-rounded students."

"Um…" Jason was still on the edge about that whole sports thing, feeling sick at the thought of tryouts. "I-I guess I was considering running for student council."

Approval curved at the fringes of his father's mouth. The feeling in Jason's chest warmed, welcomingly addictive.

"As the president?"

 _Hell no._

"Yes," Jason nodded. His father had already given up on Thalia. Disappointing him further seemed out of the question. "But since I'm so young, I doubt they'll elect me."

"That isn't an issue." His father snuffled through his beard, reaching for his drink. "I have a friend in the school board, he can put in a good word for you."

"You don't mean...I can't _cheat_."

His father's chuckle was scraped tar, low and gravelly. "What I'm about to tell you is valuable advice, son. I want you to remember it for the rest of your life, be it in school, the workforce, or when managing a family of your own. Where you have power, _use_ it."

Jason listened intently, fingers curling, five pearls per clammy palm.

"When I came home, I expected dinner to be ready. I expected my drink to be fixed, because your mother knew I'd throw her out in the blink of an eye if things weren't so."

Jason swallowed down the lump of terror in his throat. "You're not gonna kick Thalia out, are you?"

"She's flesh and blood, so it's slightly different. But that doesn't mean there won't be consequences. The point is, there's nothing wrong with working in your best interests. In a selfish world, the only way to get ahead is to be selfish. Do you understand?"

Jason nodded, trying to.

Back then, his father was always right. No one ever disobeyed him. He was the epitome of success, the bearer of achievement, Jason couldn't feel proud of anything until his father explicitly approved it.

That was four years ago.

Since then, Jason has learned how much of a monster he really is. And maybe, gradually, Jason's growing up to be exactly like him.

"Percy was with me."

Jason rests a heavy hand on the doorjamb, his voice sounding breathless even to his own ears.

"Excuse me?" Principal Notus tips his glasses over his nose, gazing at him from behind his desk. Percy turns in his seat, eyes widening, soured features melting with shock.

Jason steps inside the principal's office. His pounding heartbeat stabilizes alongside his determination. Too late to turn back now. "He couldn't have set off the stink bomb during first period because we were making posters together. About vaccinations, like you asked. Percy's graffiti is pretty good, I'm sure you've seen it before. So I pulled him out of class to help me."

Compared to the wrath he'd been aiming at Percy, Principal Notus regards Jason like a higher-being, a saint. "I see."

"That's right," Percy says. "Now can I go?"

Notus narrows his eyes and his nostrils twitch. " _May_ I go. And yes, as long as Jason escorts you to class."

"No problem," Jason chirps.

Percy slides out of his seat. As soon as his back is turned from Notus, a grin tilts his mouth. He brushes Jason on his way out.

"Thanks dude." Percy presses even closer once they're alone. "That was amazing. Political corruption at its finest."

"I suppose you're going to tell me you were framed?"

Percy frowns at Jason's bristled tone. "No, I actually...Sorry."

"It doesn't matter. What's your next class?" Percy stops in the middle of the hallway. Jason has already passed him by a few steps before he notices, and he scoffs. "You can't attend a single period? After what I've done?"

Jason's never lied to a teacher. He never lies, except little polite ones, because it's horrible and wrong, especially about something with such major consequences. While he's having a morality crisis, Percy glances down one stretch of empty hallway, then in the opposite direction, where it's equally bare. Jason crosses his arms, the simmering inside him beginning to boil.

"Having memory problems?" Jason asks.

Percy licks his lips. With startling reflexes, he snatches Jason's wrist and drags him through the nearby entrance of the boys' bathroom.

"The hell are you doing―"

Percy pushes him up against the tile wall. His lips press against Jason's ear, silky soft, sending cold shivers down his spine.

"What you did for me was really brave," Percy whispers. "I wanna thank you, show my gratitude and all. So just lay back and enjoy."

He pecks Jason's cheek and begins to lower himself down. Jason tilts his jaw open as he realizes what's happening, and his fingers nervously scrabble for purchase on the wall. Percy has fallen to his knees, just for him. Jason closes his eyes, throat too tight to speak. This can't be happening.

Yet he stays utterly still under Percy's touch. Listening, with a growing ache in his groin, to each teasing scrape of metal as his fly is unzipped. Warm fingers hook in the front of his boxers, their nails tickling the tender skin of Jason's stomach.

"Are you insane?" Jason finally stammers out.

"Tell me to stop, and I will." Percy speaks with spit-slicked lips. "But you won't."

When his waistbands begins to slide down, Jason has to watch, can't help himself. The sight of his cock springing free is instantly gratifying. It's still soft, but sizable enough to bump Percy's adorable nose.

Jason moans. "Fuck dude."

Percy lets out a puff of air and it falls across Jason's heated flesh, making it throb. When Percy tentatively grasps the base, Jason moans again. The wall isn't enough. He clutches onto Percy's narrow shoulders and squeezes with a death grip.

"You're really going to do this, aren't you?"

A smile dances over Percy's lips. He's eyeing Jason's growing erection with a hungry glimmer, moist tongue darting out. "You're already so big, I'm not sure you'll fit in my mouth when you swell up even more."

Percy gives Jason an experimental pump and Jason bucks his hips.

"Just," Jason breathes. "Just hurry up and suck me off. If that's what you're going to do."

Percy glances up, gaze shining smugly. "You're lucky this is a favor. Usually, I like to hear a lot more begging." Without breaking eye contact, he leans forward and licks a bead of pre-cum off the tip. Jason pistons forward, so the head of his cock nudges against Percy's lips.

"Come on," confidence leaks into Jason's voice, having been granted power in this situation. "Show me how grateful you are." For a moment, he's the same type of man as his father.

A needy whimper slips out of Percy. Then, obedient as a pet, Percy parts his lips around Jason's cock, slowly taking him into his mouth. Jason groans, fisted hands moving from Percy's shoulders and grabbing handfuls of his messy black hair instead. Percy feels silky wet and cherry tight. Jason almost comes immediately, but he holds back for the show.

Percy continues to push forward, stretching his mouth painfully wide as, little by little, he engulfs more of Jason's thickening cock. With a thrust of his hips, Jason covers the last inch to sheath himself completely. His balls slap Percy's chin, foreskin bumping the back of his throat. It's perfection.

"God, you're pretty like this." Jason's fingers fumble to brush his dark fringe back. "Open your eyes."

Percy's heavy lashes flutter. Beneath them, his pupils are blown wide and foggy. All of a sudden his cheeks hollow with a firm suck, and Jason has to mute the rumble in his chest. They're in the middle of a fucking bathroom, they can't be too loud. He yanks on Percy's hair to guide his movement, but Percy is already sliding back along Jason's length. The amazing pressure around Jason's cock releases, replaced by a naked ache. Just as quickly as he's gone though, Percy swallows him to the root, burying his nose in blonde pubic hair. No sign of any gag reflex, marking Percy's wealth of experience.

Jason feels flushed in fire. He turns his cheek to press against the refreshingly cool tile. Unperturbed, Percy pulls back to bob on his cock a few more times, wringing thoroughly lewd, wet noises through the room. Jason's never felt so drenched in pleasure, lifted above the earth and wrapped in the heaven of Percy's suffocating walls. He knows he's going to orgasm embarrassingly soon.

Percy's mouth pulls off completely with a wet _pop._ But it doesn't matter, because he immediately ducks down to lap at the sensitive underside Jason's balls, abusing the advantage of his roughly textured tongue. Percy strokes Jason with his free hand and Jason feels the knot in his abdomen screw up impossibly tight. What really pushes him over the edge is when Percy licks down the length of his cock, reaching the head, and kisses the pre-cum soaked slit.

Jason's vision blurs as all the tension leaks out of his body and he's enveloped in bliss. Percy's rosy tongue darts out to catch the sticky spray of semen like snowflakes.

When he's rode out the waves of ecstasy, Jason slumps against the wall. He tosses his hand over his sweaty forehead, too out of it to fix his cock hanging out. Percy does it for him, tugging up his boxers and drawing the zipper up. He plants one last kiss on Jason's groin before standing up.

"Thanks again," Percy smiles. He wipes a smear of come off his lips with the back of his hand. "Maybe we can have a repeat, next time I get in trouble."

Percy has the audacity to try and walk away, like this was anything close to normal. Like Jason would just let him leave after this, _this_ ―disaster.

Jason grabs his arm and forcibly hauls him backward, so they're nose to nose, foreheads molded together. Jason's back is still against the wall, but this time, he's the one in control.

"Dude, you haven't even…" Jason reaches down and squeezes the bulge in Percy's jeans.

"Oh," Percy gasps quietly. He pushes Jason's hand away as a second thought. "I―I was gonna take care of that myself."

"Why?" Jason slides his arms around Percy's waist, pulling him closer. Holding him, kind of. It's strange, but it feels right.

"I don't know...That's just how these things work."

"Let me help." Jason tries to force a knee between Percy's legs, but Percy closes them, the first hint of a blush spreading across his face.

"What? No, you really don't need to. I'm used to it."

"You're used to your partners not reciprocating?"

"Well, yeah." Percy shrugs and frowns, uncomfortable. If it weren't for Jason's arms, he'd probably be backing away. "It's fun for awhile, but everything cuts short once the other guy comes." Percy quickly adds, "Not that I blame them."

"Well you should, " Jason says. "I'd never do that to you."

He runs his knuckles over Percy's cheek. And because Jason's always thought Percy was cute, maybe even since kindergarten, he pulls Percy in for a kiss. Their very first. For a moment, the world's fuzzy soft, just the two of them melting together. Jason tastes coffee and smoke, bitter on their own, somehow mingling to make savory.

Percy lets out a small sound and shoves at his chest. Jason breaks away.

"Are you in love with me or something? Why the hell are you kissing me?" Percy isn't angry, but he looks distressed all the same.

"Why the fuck do you think I let you give me a blowjob?" Jason asks. "Because I like you, obviously."

"Well I don't kiss guys."

Jason scoffs. "Do you kiss girls?"

Percy maintains a stubbornly blank stare. "No. I've never made out with anyone. That's, like, straight people stuff."

Jason wants to bite back an insult. But despite the obvious skill he'd demonstrated in sucking cock, Percy seems genuinely out of touch with this. The concept of affection. It strikes a tender chord in Jason. He's irritated on Percy's behalf, and hates all the guys who've ever used him and not taken proper care.

"I like you," Jason repeats. "And I'm guessing you like me, since you've been blatantly flirting and touching me over the last two weeks. So let me help you feel good."

"You don't need to," Percy insists. But his voice falters as Jason presses his knee into Percy's crotch. A whine tears from Percy's throat, his breathing going uneven. "Oh...oh _fuck_."

Jason kneads, deep and insistent, while Percy's hips weakly fidget to hump him. The most broken noises are stringing out of Percy, faint but deliciously innocent. He's so sensitive, just like every virgin Jason's ever fooled around with. It's a paradoxical sight, watching ever-composed Percy Jackson flush pink and pant and slowly come apart. Luckily, Jason knows how to treat a virgin.

Jason carefully takes Percy's hands and guides them onto his chest. It's for support, so when Jason kisses him again―chaste and gentle―Percy can curl his fingers in Jason's shirt.

"Mmm, this is so lame," Percy murmurs against his mouth.

"You really think so?" Jason firmly rubs his leg against Percy's hard-on, eliciting a sigh. "Maybe I should stop then."

Percy makes a strangled protest, and knots his fingers tighter in Jason's shirt while they keep kissing. Jason feels his cock beginning to stir again, though he tries to focus on Percy. To give him everything he's been unfairly deprived of.

With a frustrated whine, Percy starts to vigorously ride Jason's thigh, body rocking like it's on top of a pony. When Percy suddenly grows slack, he bites down hard on Jason's bottom lip. Jason ignores the pain to pet Percy's hair through the shuddering aftershocks.

A few minutes pass before Percy drowsily blinks up at him, expression unreadable. His pale throat bobs.

"You look like you've just lost your innocence," Jason grins. Although Percy can't really be a virgin, this had to be a unique experience for him. Jason's sure.

"That was…"

"Passable, I hope?"

The joke doesn't even crack a smile. Percy rubs the exhaustion out of his eyes and glances down at the damp spot on his jeans. "I don't know how I'll walk out like this."

"I've got spare shorts in my gym locker, if you want to borrow those."

"Yeah, that works. I'll just…" Percy stumbles backwards, away from Jason, breaking eye contact in a way he's never done before. _Insecure_ is the last thing Jason would've labelled Percy as. Yet it's plain to see when Percy clings to the edge of the sink, breathing quietly, refusing to lift his head and face the mirror.

After it's clear Percy won't finish his sentence, Jason nods. "Be right back, then."

He turns and heads for the door. Just before it closes behind him, he imagines hearing Percy swear under his breath.


End file.
